Table 2.
Overview of diagnostic findings by disease groups and detection method, excluding patients with evidence of grade 1 or grade 2 co-infections
| Conventional bacteria | Rickettsia spp or R typhi | Orientia tsutsugamushi | Leptospira spp | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct detection | ||||
| PCR (CSF) | 42/1051 (4·0%) | 15/983 (1·5%) | 20/1011 (2·0%) | 6/1014 (0·6%) |
| PCR (blood) | NA | 4/509 (0·8%) | 16/515 (3·1%) | 6/509 (1·2%) |
| Culture (CSF) | 12/1051 (1·0%) | NA | NA | NA |
| Culture (blood)* | 8/1051 (0·8%) | 1/62 (1·6%) | 3/62 (4·8%) | 2/646 (0·3%) |
| Total PCR/culture | 42/1051 (4·0%) | 19/1051 (1·9%) | 30/1,051 (2·9%) | 13/1051 (1·2%) |
| Serology (IFA/MAT; plasma) | ||||
| Evidence of acute infection | NA | 9/795 (1·1%) | 8/795 (1·0%) | 20/541 (3·7%) |
| Probable or recent infection | NA | 0/795 (0·0%) | 11/795 (1·4%) | 24/541 (4·4%) |
| Four-fold rise/PCR/culture | NA | 28/1051 (2·7%) | 31/1051 (2·9%) | 31/1051 (2·9%) |
Data are the number of positive samples by laboratory investigation (percentages of positives) for the different pathogens. Patients who were positive by more than one method are included for the individual methods but the total is given for infected patients rather than samples. Seroconversion was defined as a four-fold antibody titre rise between admission and convalescent sample, while a high static titre (≥1:12 800) was deemed evidence for infection. CSF=cerebrospinal fluid. IFA=immunofluorescence assay. MAT=microscopic agglutination test.
Mahosot Hospital Microbiology Laboratory participates in the UK NEQAS General Bacteriology and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing scheme.